Black wolves of the Full Moon
by Asmodeus Wrathbringer
Summary: A three man guild with an extraordinary leader. Follow to see how Kirito will lead his little group to become the greatest guild that Aincrad has to offer. AsunaXKiritoXSachi. OCs included.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, look! That black coat and one handed sword."

"That must be him, just look at those eyes. No wonder all of the guilds wanted him to join them."

"But instead, he decided to remain in that unknown guild. I've heard that it only have 3 members."

"They say that the guild's members are all monsters!"

The boy clad in black clothes ignored the whispers of the people seeing him. He was used to hear praise, insults and gossips about him from either jealous players or those who respects him because of his incredible feats.

As of now he was walking in the plaza of the 49th floor he can still hear stories about what happened in the 25th floor. That was the moment where all of the guilds has lost most of their members because of the monster-boss they faced, yet the boy in black was the one who ended the boss all by himself.

But he didn't really brag about that achievement. He just protected the girl that he promised to defend until the end of this death game. He didn't care about other guilds, but his conscience as a human took over him to save those remaining people.

Walking inside a restaurant he met up with a dark haired girl along with a blonde guy with blue eyes. Both of them weren't wearing any armor, instead, they are wearing coats fitted for this cold month of Holly.

"You're late as usual Kazuto. Sachi here has been worrying about you."

The blond guy scolded Kirito with a teasing smile on his face, while the girl named Sachi blushed as she reprimanded the blond guy not to call Kirito by his true name. It is basically a taboo in Aincrad to talk about things from the other world.

"Don't waste you time on him. Ever since we're kids, Arthur has been a very troublesome guy. By the way, where is Klein and the others?"

Kirito asked, noticing that the «Fuurinkazan» wasn't in the said place. They have been planning to spend the night before Christmas eve to enjoy themselves.

"Oh, they arrived here a while ago but they said that they will buy some wine and return here quickly."

Seeing that Arthur has already begun to devour the tower cake, Sachi answered Kirito's question. They waited for a few minutes before the six members of the «Fuurinkazan» finally returned with Klein carrying more than 10 bottles of expensive wine.

"You're late Kirito! Here, we bought some of the finest wine on sale!"

With a laugh, Klein put all of the wine bottles on the large table; the other six members took their seats as they exchanged pleasantries and greeting with the three man guild «Black wolves of the Full Moon».

"Now! Let's start the celebration for the clearing of the 49th floor!"

Klein shouted as the members cheered in unison. Kirito on the other hand did not bother yelling and proceeded to open the bottle of wine that Klein bought. Since he rarely drinks this kind of things, he thought that it wouldn't hurt to empty one bottle.

"Also! This is for the victory of our guilds against the boss!"

The «Fuurinkazan» again cheered loudly as they yelled nonsense and devoured the food that the NPC served on their large table. The contest on who can eat most of the giant turkey started with the two main rivals, Klein and Arthur. The remaining guys bet on who will win, the fun continued as the two guilds celebrated.

"But really. Why celebrate now? Tomorrow is Christmas eve."

Sachi mumbled while drinking the wine, Kirito just showed a wry smile as he picked up a piece of meat with a fork before moving it closer to Sachi's mouth. The dark haired girl blushed furiously but still accepted the meat that Kirito offered.

"Hurrah! Kazuto got himself a girlfriend!"

Arthur yelled with his mouth full of turkey and the other six turned their gaze at Kirito and Sachi. Another round of loud cheering resounded on the restaurant.

"You see what you did!"

With a red face, Sachi yelled at Kirito, but she wasn't really angry about that. She just felt embarrassment from doing those kinds of acts in front of others.

They aren't really a couple, but they have some feelings for each other. It's not that kid of love, and both of them know it. It's more like a brother/sister feeling for each other, they both rely to each other for comfort.

Though Arthur understands their feelings for each other, he couldn't stop to tease them because of his nature.

The guild known as «Black wolves of the Full Moon» have three members. All of them are excellent on their profession and classes. Those members are—

Arthur, he is the mid-attacker of the group. He uses a two handed sword for heavy damage and high chances of «Double Damage». He's main job is to attack first or assist Kirito when fighting high level monsters. His skills are high enough to assist Kirito even when using his inhuman speed.

Sachi was the supporter for the group. She uses pole-class and spear class weapons and her attacks always hit «Critical» damage, she's the one who supports when Kirito or Arthur when someone is using potions, her main attribute is set to dexterity and strength.

Kirito the leader of the group and the most powerful attacker. He uses a one handed long sword without any shield, but even with that, he can fight and protect the two other members of his guild at the same time. He is known throughout Aincrad for battling an entire guild and defeating them all by himself.

Also, he's very famous since he was the only partner that solo Asuna always pick when they team up for boss fights.

As the crowd cheer Klein who defeated Arthur in turkey eating contest. Sachi just patted the back of her defeated guild comrade and praised Klein who was laughing loudly while counting the healing crystals that he got from winning.

"I told you, no one has ever defeated Klein-san on that kind of thing."

Sachi whispered and Arthur just groaned from frustration. Now he really needs to visit the shop where the annoying shopkeeper was staying.

As they continue to have fun on their meal, Kirito stood up declaring that he has to do something. The others complained to him for having no fun at all, but Kirito just shrugged them and sent a look of apology at Arthur and Sachi.

* * *

_**(Scene change)**_

Just outside of the restaurant, there was a girl covered by a robe standing idly while staring at the black figure walking towards her. The figure was carrying one black sword on his back, he wasn't wearing any cold resistant coat either.

"So Asuna, what's the reason for calling me?"

"Follow me."

Ignoring the question of Kirito, Asuna walked with a fast pace towards the main plaza of the city. The place wasn't very crowded, only a few couples were staying there to enjoy the silent atmosphere.

Sitting on the bench near the fountain, Kirito again directed his gaze at the beautiful face of Asuna. Though he wasn't showing any emotion, she can tell that Kirito was smiling though it's barely noticeable.

"About the Christmas eve quest… Would you like to do it together with me?"

_Eh!? _Kirito was dumbfounded at Asuna's request. Sure he knows the quest about «Nicholas the Renegade» but never expected Asuna to be interested in that kind of thing. Since she's a solo player that never accepted to join any guilds or parties, Kirito also know that he's the only one who had ever been related to Asuna.

"I… Just want to items on his sack."

"The resurrection item?"

"No… I want to get some other items from the sack, I don't really care about the resurrection item but… it can be useful to you."

After releasing a sigh, Kirito remained silent. His eyes looking directly at Asuna who was doing the same, those who saw them definitely thought that they were outrageously flirting in public, but the said persons didn't mind them.

"How long have you been training?"

Asuna was surprised at Kirito's question. She didn't know how Kirito managed to discover that she was training nonstop to level up.

"9 hours…"

"Well, regarding your strength, I suppose that training for 9 hours is not much for you… But you need to rest, what's your level now?"

To be able to keep secret stats such as the level is a player's lifeline. To not ask is therefore an unspoken rule in SAO. But Asuna didn't really mind if it's Kirito, she didn't even mind if he was ought to look to her inventory.

"Today, I managed to get into level 73…"

"Is that so? My current level is 83 is the two of us enough to defeat that boss?"

Asuna widened her eye at Kirito's sentence. Although she always spends her time training to be stronger, Kirito managed to stay above her by 10 levels.

"Two of us? Aren't you going to bring your guild along?"

"I know that your mood will worsen if I brought other peoples."

"…."

Asuna remained silent; she was thinking if Kirito can read her mind. Then again, there's no such skill on SOA that allows the player to read the minds of others.

"I know that you have an idea where that place is. Rest for now Asuna, tomorrow we will hunt «Nicholas the Renegade»"

After saying that sentence, Kirito stood up from the bench and started to walk back towards the restaurant to continue the feast with Sachi and the others. But before he can walk further from the spot, he was stopped when Asuna grabbed his hand.

"Just for tonight… Let me spend the night in you house."

Asuna said with a serious tone while Kirito was blinking his eyes. Not believing that the strongest woman he met just said those words. He quickly regained his composure as he nodded at Asuna before accompanying her back into his house.

* * *

_**(Scene change)**_

Arriving at the 45th floor, Kirito along with Asuna walked towards the house located in the middle of the city. It wasn't that big but it's more than enough to be called beautiful, the house that Kirito owns has two floors and designed with beautiful stones. From other's view, it certainly looks like a mini castle.

"How much does this house cost?"

"5000k col. It's not much but, please enter."

Kirito gestured as Asuna entered the house without hesitation. Her eyes wandered around the room that was brightly by the crystal that was acting as a fluorescent light. The furniture's were neatly arranged and the house was giving off a sweet scent.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Yes please."

Asuna took a seat in the comfortable sofa as she removed her robe and her sword. She also changed into a white dress that was made from ice dragon's skin so it was cold resistant.

Soon, Kirito finished the tea and served it to Asuna.

In Asuna's mind, the Black swordsman Kirito was a strong player who greatly cares for his comrades. But Asuna never imagined Kirito to have this kind of peaceful side, and now that the room was greatly illuminated. She can see his face clearly, though he somehow looks like a girl, his appearance would change whenever his eyes became serious.

"So, do you have any plan about «Nicholas the Renegade»?"

"Just attack him with all our power; we will see who's tougher."

Upon hearing Asuna's answer, Kirito laughed before sipping his tea. Meanwhile, Asuna revealed a shocked expression; this was the first time she ever saw Kirito laugh. Since he always reveal his wry smile.

"Well, I need to return to the 49th floor. Do you want to join our little celebration?" Kirito asked as he equipped his black coat.

"No, I'll stay here… But Kirito…"

Kirito stopped as he stared at Asuna with a bewildered expression on his face. The Asuna right now was really talkative, not like the Asuna who always remained silent when she were fighting alongside Kirito.

"After we defeat Nicholas… I was hoping that you could spend the Christmas Eve with me…"

"Fu, then if we survive against that Nicholas, I'll spend the whole night with you so you better prepare for unexpected things."

Kirito said his remark offhandedly but Asuna blushed deeply after hearing his words.

"_Then I will prepare myself…"_

Asuna said but Kirito didn't hear those words as he left the house and prepared the teleportation crystal to head back at the 49th floor where the «Black wolves of the Full Moon» and the «Fuurinkazan» was celebrating.


	2. Chapter 2

_**(December 24, 2023)**_

The sun was already shining brightly with the snow reflecting it, though it was only a virtual data, they player's eyes will still receive pain when staring directly towards the virtual sun on the sky. Though this function was weirdly created, it still gave the feeling of the 'realness' in the virtual reality.

"…Uu."

The woman slumping in the large bed reluctantly get up. Her eyes were still in a daze and she looked around the place.

-That's right… I'm in Kirito-kun's house.

Silently walking outside the room, Asuna looked at the room where Kirito was supposedly sleeping. She knocked lightly on the door before opening it.

Houses that are bought by players were impenetrable and system-wise. But since Asuna was a friend of Kirito, the system has granted her the permission to enter/open any door that the house owns.

Upon entering the room, Asuna quickly caught the figure of a black haired boy sleeping peacefully in the medium sized bed. The sleeping face of the "Black Swordsman" was so innocent that made Asuna think twice whether the boy in front of her was the one who always accompanied her when doing dangerous quests. The truth is, Asuna always thought that Kirito was older than her by a year or so, but seeing his sleeping face made her think that he was much younger than her..

She spent a few minutes looking at Kirito's face until she gathered enough wits to wake up the "Strongest idiot who refused to join other guilds."

"Kirito-kun. It's already morning."

Asuna lightly tapped Kirito's cheek. The said boy just lazily opened his eyes before standing up from the bed. He looked at Asuna for a few seconds before collapsing in the bed, returning to sleep in the process.

'_He must've been tired because of the celebration last night.'_

She thought as she left the room and headed towards the small kitchen.

* * *

_**(Scene chance)**_

"Uu."

The sound of the alarm waked him up from his slumber. He gathered all his willpower to open his eyes and get up from bed; he looked at the door that was left widely open. Kirito remembered that Asuna tried to wake him up earlier but it resulted on him falling into another sleep.

"…Must restock potion and healing crystals."

Kirito muttered to himself before walking downstairs. He noticed the sweet aroma that was lingering in the air, he was doubtful about that thing but he decided to go into the kitchen to check out if his doubts were true.

He looked at the figure standing in front of the cooking mechanism. Standing there was a brown-haired girl wearing a white dress covered with a pink apron; the «Flash» Asuna was standing in front of him, cooking a variety of foods for breakfast.

"What are you doing standing right there? Take a seat, the meal is about to be finished."

Asuna said without even looking at him. Kirito merely tilted his head but decided to take a seat in the small white table, the sights of the food arranged there made him drool but the sudden realization made him stop staring at the food.

"…Impossible, even Sachi who had a high cooking skill couldn't make this kind of dishes… How high is your cooking skill?"

"Mastered…"

Kirito stopped breathing for a few moments, but he decided to give a whistle while hearing Asuna's answer. Training skills was mind-numbingly boring and extremely time consuming and could only be «Mastered» after leveling them up above 1000 times. On that note, levels didn't have anything to do with skills and went up by gaining experience points. The things that went up with the levels were HP, strength, stats like dexterity, and the number of «Skill Slots» which decided how many skills one could learn.

Kirito have twelve slots, but the only ones that he completed was his one-handed straight sword skill, scan for enemy skill and the weapon guard skill. But mastering cooking meant that Asuna spent her time in a none combat related skill.

"Here, the dish is finished; let's eat our breakfast Kirito-kun."

Without changing her poker face expression, Asuna served the soup in the table and helped herself in eating. Kirito also did the same thing, the dishes that Asuna made were really delicious, and could beat the food that was served on his favorite inn. He cherished each bite until all of the meals were eaten.

"Ah, the food was really good; I don't mind dying right now."

Hearing Kirito's offhanded remark, Asuna glared hardly at him. Her hand carrying a butcher knife found it's way onto Kirito's neck.

"Never joke about death; I hate peoples who joke about those kinds of things."

She hissed and Kirito nodded his head, his eyes were a little surprised by the actions that Asuna made. He thought that Asuna was the kind of girl that wouldn't waste her energy on those kinds of things.

"Ca-calm down…"

"Forget about that, for now let us prepare for the battle against «Nicholas the Renegade». "

Her tone indicating seriousness, Asuna sat on the table while Kirito was listening to her.

"I have been researching the possible locations where Nicholas will appear. Then I thought about the place in the 35th floor's training area where there was a random transfer area called "Lost Forest" and in a particular corner I found a giant curved tree. I thought that there had to be some hidden meaning to the shape, possibly the starting point of some unknown task and so carefully investigated, but nothing was found. In retrospect, that giant tree was a fir tree. On Christmas – that is, tonight, special Mob «Nicholas the Apostate» should appear there under the tree. "

"I see, even though we are high levels, there are only two of us. We should be very careful, if one of us dies, the other one should definitely kill Nicholas and use the resurrection item on each other."

Asuna nodded at Kirito's words. The truth is, she was intending to use the resurrection item only for Kirito.

"But just in case, I will prepare _that_ if anything goes wrong."

Kirito muttered with a sharp look as he opened his skill window and began arranging his skill slots. Asuna looked weirdly at Kirito, but she decided to hold the question on her mind.

'_Having a shield is the very advantage of a one-handed swordsman. But I've never seen Kirito-kun use a shield, I wonder… Is he hiding something?'_

* * *

"It's time…"

Kirito muttered as he stood up in the rocking chair. He was already equipped with his favorite black coat and the black one handed sword on his back, the Elucidator. Underneath the black coat was a light silver metal armor that provides protection. The gloves that he was wearing were also made from light metal, along with his boots and shoulder guards.

His new choices of armor made Asuna think if something was on. Since Kirito rarely uses any armor besides his black coat, seeing him on this state made Asuna blush a little.

But Asuna was wondering about one thing.

The second sword that was hanging on his back. The silver Dark Repulser was shining non-stop on Kirito's back; the two blades were crossed on his back, giving an abnormal feeling.

"Why are you carrying two swords?"

Asuna asked but Kirito just smiled before winking at her.

"So I can easily replace my sword if it's broken."

He answered as he walked out of the house and grabbed a teleportation crystal. Asuna also followed and grabbed her own crystal.

""Teleport Lost Forest!""

The two people became covered with blue lights, a few seconds passed before they silhouettes disappeared.

* * *

Unwilling to face low level monsters, Asuna and Kirito ran forward, ignoring all of the monsters in the process. With their high level, their agility was not to be underestimated, with their dexterity being also high; their speed was much greater than normal high level players.

After a few minutes of running, Asuna and Kirito arrived in the entrance of the forest maze. This field dungeon was segregated by numerous 4-sided polygons, and as the areas were connected to each other, it could be said to be impossible to break through if there's no map.

Asuna opened her map; she stared at the map for a minute, memorizing all the routes they should take. After memorizing the path, Asuna grabbed Kirito's hand as she dragged him to enter the silent forest.

They encountered a few monsters that cannot be ignored, and it took them an hour to get rid of those monsters. They ran nonstop to reach the said spot, and just when they were only a few meters from the next transfer gate, Asuna hugged Kirito from behind.

"A… Asuna? What are you doing?"

Kirito frantically asked as he tried to break free from Asuna's grip. But he failed, not because he was weaker in terms of STR but because he felt comfortable with Asuna by his side. He stopped himself from resisting and allowed Asuna to lean on his back.

"Kirito-kun… After this battle, I will properly confess my feelings to you. So please….. Don't die."

***THUMP THUMP* **

Kirito felt his heart stopped for a second after he heard Asuna's words. He remained frozen in the spot as his mind tried to process the words that Asuna just said.

"I was planning to say that after we defeated Nicholas and celebrated in the city but… I feel scared. Scared for the possibility that I will die on this battle."

Asuna unconsciously tightened her hug, and Kirito reflexively put in hand onto Asuna's.

"You won't die Asuna. I will not let that happen, and after the battle, I will tell you what I feel."

Kirito whispered gently to Asuna, the hands that were wrapped around him lost its strength as it loosened. Kirito faced Asuna and used his hand to move the hair that was obscuring Asuna's face.

"Let's go Asuna…"

Saying that, Kirito held Asuna's hand and together, they walked towards the transfer gate.

* * *

As the timer in their visions reached zero, Asuna and Kirito looked at the giant pine tree standing in front of them.

The pitch-black night sky, or rather, with the base of the upper level as background, those lines of light continued to reach over. Looking at them closely, it was a strangely-shaped monster dragging a giant sled.

As it reached the top of the trees, a black shadow flew down from the sled, Asuna and Kirito took a few steps back.

What landed hard and scattered the snow was a monster that was 3 times their size. It was still a human appearance, but his arms were extremely long, and because his body was bent forward, those arms almost touched the ground. The small red eyes were glowing under the abnormal bulge on the forehead of the shadow. The lower half of the face was full of curly grey beard, and the length even reached the waist.

Strangely, this monster was wearing a red and white shirt, a cone-shaped hat that was of the same color, wielding an axe with the right hand, and a large bag full of things on the left hand. The designer who designed this guy probably wanted to let a large group of players to be scared yet amused once they see this ridiculous ugly version of a boss Santa Claus. But to them, who are facing this «Nicholas the Apostate» solo, the appearance of the boss wasn't important.

_**«Those who seek the item of life shall face me. Defeat me to get the items in my sack, but be warned, the weak spirited shall naught escape!»**_

After saying those curse-like words. The monster stood steadily on its spot, waiting for the challengers to perform the first attack.

"Let's finish this quickly!"

Asuna moved at a speed that cannot be made by normal players, her sword moved at Godspeed and delivered the first attack, the 6 hit combo, «Death Flash». It managed to reduce the health bar of Nicholas by a small amount, but Asuna didn't stopped. The rapier «Lambent Light» again glowed brightly as it pierced through Nicholas' body.

The monster didn't allowed Asuna to perform another combo as it swung the large axe, but then he was outbalanced when a strong attack hit his back. The black swordsman, Kirito was wielding the Elucidator on his right hand and the Dark Repulser on his left.

"Starburst Stream…"

Kirito whispered as he unleashed his fury towards Nicholas. The blades on his hands radiated a blue light as they moved at a speed that cannot be seen by human eye, the attacks were coming from all directions and Nicholas couldn't do anything but to block the heavy attacks coming from left to right.

"Hyaah!"

Asuna ignored the feeling that was rising inside her when she saw Kirito using a skill that she has never saw. Instead, she focused on assisting Kirito, she used another skill combo and attacked Nicholas from the back.

«_**Graah!**_»

Nicholas howled as the air swirled violently, throwing Asuna and Kirito on the opposite side. A small box appeared on the top of his life bar, it was a buff.

"Asuna! Fall back! That buff increases the regeneration rate and the stats by the user by 25 percent!"

Kirito yelled as he ran towards Asuna's side. They evaded an attack from Nicholas before they ran away from the spot; Nicholas followed them while swinging the giant axe on his hand. His maniac laughter was resounding throughout the area.

"Kuh! As expected from a boss!"

Kirito used a healing crystal as he attacked Nicholas from the front. Asuna also did the same thing while throwing her rapier skills at the bearded maniac.

«_**Hohohohoho!**_ »

Nicholas laughed as he swung the axe, but it was blocked by Kirito's swords. Then Nicholas used the sack on his other hand and sent Kirito flying away, he focused on Asuna and used a rotating skill «Tornado» to cause more damage.

At the same time, Nicholas activated the skills «Double Swing» allowing him to swing his axe twice on each attack. Asuna used another healing crystal as she tried to block the axe with her thin rapier.

"Asuna! "

Kirito yelled as he appeared to block the attack of Nicholas. He activated the buff skill «Rage» boosting his stats by 10% and giving him another +7% HP regeneration with the «Battle Healing».

Asuna assisted Kirito by delivering combos that slowed Nicholas' moves. Her eyes flaring with the resolve to fight alongside with Kirito.

"Asuna! Give me 10 seconds to finish him!"

Kirito yelled as he crossed his blades, his body began to glow. Asuna used all of her might to stop Nicholas' attacks; her HP was slowly being drained in the point that the health bar reached the yellow zone.

"Switch!"

As Asuna heard Kirito's voice, she leapt away from the spot and watched as Kirito rushed to face Nicholas head on.

"«Inferno Rush»!"

Nicholas swung his mighty axe but Kirito deflected it with his Elucidator, he began to slash his swords in a much faster rate. He ignored some of the damage that Nicholas inflicted as he continued to swing his swords. Each blows was so powerful that a gust of air follows his movements, he yelled as he continue to attack Nicholas with his combo, the said monster didn't had the chance to block any of Kirito's attacks.

As the battle reached its climax, Kirito raised both of his sword, while Nicholas gathered his strength to have a double damage.

Nicholas swung the axe but it was stopped when Asuna blocked using her rapier, in that time, Kirito was already in the air preparing to attack Nicholas.

"Taste the wrath of my «Eclipse»!"

Yelling that, Kirito swung both of his swords at Nicholas. A blue light followed his movements as he sliced the body of the monster, Nicholas let out a loud growl as his frame turned into thousands of polygons!

At the same time, Kirito let go of his swords as he collapsed in the cold snow.

* * *

"…kun! Kirito-kun!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Kirito opened his eyes. Asuna was in front of him and tears were nearly escaping from her eyes.

Kirito blinked for a few times as he remembered what happened before he passed out. He used the combo skill Starburst Stream, Inferno Rush and Eclipse at the battle against Nicholas, that's why he felt dizzy and lost his consciousness. His HP was already at the red zone, if it weren't for the skill Battle Healing and Rage, he would've been dead by now.

"How long was I out?"

He asked Asuna as he moved his body in the nearby tree and leaned on it for support.

"Just a few seconds."

Asuna said before breaking into tears and hugging Kirito tightly.

"Idiot! That was too reckless!"

Asuna buried her face in Kirito's neck as she cried like a kid. The reaction that she just did make Kirito froze on the spot, never had he seen Asuna to act like a normal girl. He always thought that Asuna was a tough girl that doesn't have any fear or weakness, but seeing her right now made Kirito think that no matter how strong Asuna was, she was still a normal girl.

He gently patted Asuna's head as they stayed in that position for a few minutes.

"Ah, that's right. Let's see what items Nicholas dropped."

Saying that, Kirito opened his inventory, he drank a potion before scrolling to see what other items he got fro defeating Nicholas.

From weapons, jewels, ores, crystal and food ingredients. Nicholas dropped so many items, but one of them stands out the most. It was called «Divine Stone of Returning Soul».

Kirito materialized the stone Floating above the inventory window is a rainbow-colored jewel stone around the size of an egg with such beauty that was unable to be put into words. Kirito tapped the jewel stone, he clicked on the help menu by the window, and simple instructions appeared on the panel in a familiar font style.

**[The item can be used on the player's shortcut menu or holding the materialized item and shouting «Revive… Player Name», the effect will only works and revives the fallen player during the time frame between death of the player to the disappearance of item's effect light**. (_Approximately 10 seconds_)**]**

"Approximately 10 seconds. This is from the time when a player's HP falls to zero and the body shattering into polygons."

Kirito muttered as he looked at the instruction. Asuna didn't care about the items that Nicholas dropped; she remained on her position hugging Kirito. For her, having Kirito safe was more important than rare items.

"Kirito-kun… Now that this is over… You'll spend the rest of the Christmas eve with me, right?"

"No…"

Hearing his cold answer Asuna felt that a cold ice spear was struck into her heart. The pain was too much and her eyes couldn't stop but release hot tears from disappointment.

"Christmas eve is already over Asuna… That's why; I'll spend the whole Christmas day with you."

With a warm smile on his face, Kirito wiped the tears that were escaping Asuna's eyes. Asuna smiled hearing Kirito's words, though she was mad that Kirito played a joke on her, she ignored that feeling and cherished the warm feeling on her chest.

"Kirito-kun, I will protect you… You are very important for me, Kirito-kun, I love you…"

Kirito smiled at Asuna before pulling her closer to him.

"I will also protect Asuna, for Asuna is very important to me."

Asuna moved her face closer to Kirito; she leaned her entire body to him and moved closer until their foreheads were touching. She smiled at Kirito as she moved her lips onto his.

Under the giant fir tree, Asuna and Kirito held each other's body. The coldness of the snow didn't bother them as they share their love for each other.

* * *

_**Well, I apologize. I don't have the talent to write good romantic scenes. But anyway, they defeated Nicholas the Renegade. The battle scene was only invented so don't go imagining that the combat skill of Nicholas was like that. I also added a few skills on Kirito's dual blade slot. As for Sachi and Arthur, they will appear on the next chapters, the KoB doesn't have much of a role here.**_

_**R&R**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**(December 25 2023)**_

The room was dimly lit by a lamp, the surroundings was very silent. Though it was already Christmas, the town in the 49th floor was very quiet, the only sound that can be heard was the BGM that was playing the music called "Let it snow". A Christmas song perfect for the month of December, or in what they called in Aincrad, month of Holly.

Right now, Kirito was sitting in the bed while looking at the window. The virtual snow was gently falling from the virtual clouds that were in the sky, he wasn't wearing his usual attire, instead, he was wearing a black long sleeve and a matching black shorts.

Lying beside him was a thoroughly naked Asuna. Her body was only covered by a white blanket; Kirito was still engrossed by her flawless white skin. He smiled gently at her before his finger lightly ran on her chest.

Asuna slowly opened her eyes before looking towards Kirito. She blinked twice before smiling towards him, she got up from the bed and leaned her body towards Kirito, though the blanket that was covering her body fell down, Asuna didn't mind as she planted a gentle kiss on Kirito's lips.

"Aren't you cold? You're not even wearing anything."

"It's fine, since Kirito-kun will keep me warm until the morning."

Saying that with a flushed face, Asuna returned in the bed she lightly tapped Kirito's hand, telling him to also lie down. The blushing Kirito before he covered Asuna's body by the white blanket.

"Kirito-kun, I'm a little tired; let's sleep."

Asuna placed her head on Kirito's chest; she wrapped her hand at his body, not long she comfortably fell asleep within Kirito's arms. In that silent night, Kirito dreamt about his past.

* * *

_**(A year earlier)**_

"Hey! What took you so long Kirito? I was starting to think that you won't log in!"

The blue haired swordsman waved at the black haired warrior who appeared in the starting point of the 1st floor. They are both wearing a beginners armor that was made up from low quality leather and some thin clothes.

"The traffic was very bad… Besides, there's now way that I'll miss the first day of this VRMMORPG."

The black haired prince replied and the blue haired swordsman just chuckled.

"Yup, if it's Kazuto then it's really impossible for him to miss this game."

"Don't call me by my name… Arthur. Okay, why did you use your real name for your character?"

The blue haired swordsman named Arthur again smiled as he patted Kazuto's back before pointing at a different location where a guy with a bandana was standing. The name above his head was Klein.

"He's a newbie here just like me. I just thought that you can teach us how to fight since you're a beta tester."

Arthur remarked as Kazuto sighed. The guy named Klein bowed his head in apology and respectfully asked Kazuto to teach him how to do some basic movements and some things about the newest ground breaking game Sword Art Online.

After an hour or so, Klein and Arthur got the hang of the skills and proceeded to train while Kazuto was lazily watching them. He was thinking that he should've just hunted in the frontlines and get to the next floor, but since Arthur who was his partner was a beginner, he had to wait for him to master the basics of his skills and movements.

"Ah! I forgot that my pizza will arrive at 5:30! I need to log off, I'll return later!"

Just when Klein said that, both Kazuto and Arthur said their goodbyes and began to talk about the monsters in the first floor. But their conversation was cut when Klein shouted.

"What the- the log off button is missing!"

He yelled in fear and annoyance. But Kirito just told him to look for it again, after a few minutes of searching; Klein didn't succeed in finding the log-off button. Arthur who was confused, also checked his menu bar and searched for the log off button, but he found none.

"How's this possible? Is this a bug? What do you think Kazuto?"

"No, that's impossible. The GM's aren't also replying in my questions."

Suddenly, a chiming noise resounded in the area. Kazuto, Arthur and Klein got surrounded by a clear blue pillar of light. Kazuto/Kirito has already used this kind of item and he did not doubt that they were being teleported by an item. But none of them activated any crystals or so.

When their vision became clear, they found their selves in the «Starting City» along with thousands of players. Above them was a red checkered sight with the words [Warning] and [System Announcement]. Kazuto was shocked for a moment but he thought that the administrators must've been doing something to help them.

But then, a red liquid slowly oozed off from the ceiling. The blood-like thing took the form of a giant man wearing a robe, but there's no face inside nor exposed body parts. Even the hands were clad in shadow gloves.

_«Players I welcome you all to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko and right now, I am the only one with the access in this world.»_

The giant robe who introduced himself as Kayaba Akihiko began to explain the things about the NerveGear and the effects that will happen if it is removed by another person. Already 213 players died in the real world because of that reason.

«_In order to be released in this game, the players must clear all of the 100 floors here in Aincrad. Dying in this game means death in the real world, so be careful on what you do. As a proof, please accept the items in your inventories._ »

The moment Kazuto heard that, he opened his inventory and found a mirror item. He materialized the mirror on his hands and looked at his avatar.

That moment he revealed a surprised sound.

The avatar that should've looked like a prince from some ridiculous story was gone, it was replaced by a black haired boy with some feminine features and weak appearance. This was Kazuto's real looks.

The peoples that was on the town also changed by appearances and genders. Looking beside him, he saw the blue haired warrior had turned into a blonde guy with blue eyes. The guy with the bandana called Klein became a red haired guy with some beard on his chin.

"I really liked my blue hair…"

Arthur whispered and Kazuto just ignored him. He was too shocked to see that his appearance changed, and with Kayaba's words, he was definitely scared.

_«… now I have finished the official tutorial for «Sword Art Online». Players—I wish you luck. »_

Yells, clamors, shouts, curses, begging, screaming. Those words were the only things that the players managed to say, the dream game has already turned into a death game. All of their lives became upside down because of the game called _«Sword Art Online»._

"Klein, Arthur."

Being called by the black haired warrior, the two looked at Kirito.

"Listen to me. I'm going to get out of this city and head over to the next village. Come with me."

Klein opened his eyes wide under the bandana while Arthur gave a serious look. Kirito began to talk some more about his plans to rush at the next city, while saying that he'll use the shortcut that he knows.

"I'm sorry, but I need to go to my friends. I cannot join you in your destination, Kirito."

Klein shook his head while giving a worried look. Kirito said something like _'As expected.'_ Then he turned to his childhood friend with a serious expression.

"I don't want to be a burden to you. I'll figure my plans and stay here."

Hearing Arthur's answer, Kirito widened his eyes. He tried to convince him to follow him into the next town and do some quests with him to attain a higher level.

"Don't worry about me Kirito. I'll definitely survive; you should worry about yourself more."

Kirito clenched his fists and gritted his teeth before walking away from the spot. He heard Arthur call his name so he turned with the hopes that his childhood friend changed his mind.

"In the boss battle, I'll definitely be there! You should also be alive by that time Kazuto!"

"Yes, I will absolutely be there."

Hearing his answer, Arthur raised his thumb and smiled. Kirito proceeded to the forest and made his way to the next town, his eyes releasing tears from abandoning his friend because of his own selfishness.

* * *

_**This is the start of Kirito's past. The story how he met Asuna and Sachi will also began, I really thought about it and I gave up on the idea continuing the present timeline without explaining the details of Kirito's past with the other girls. How he reunited with Arthur, how he met the Black Cats of the Full Moon, how he build his guild, how he spent his days enduring the pain and hatred, his first encounter with PoH and the Laughing Coffin and more.**_


End file.
